Monday, June 30, 2014

Dedicated to improving communities, best rated insurance companyis sponsoring a contest to support great teachers.The 2014 Contest is TWO great contests in
one.

First: Teachers can win a $2,500 School Supply
Shopping Spree

Second: Teachers
eligible for $2,500 School Supply Shopping

Spree can apply to receive a grant
for $100,000 for their

school.

It’s all about smart moves. In addition to making people smarter
about insurance, our aim is to support our teachers who dedicate their lives to
making their communities smarter. We hope to activate a community to support
those teachers who strive for excellence in teaching their children. Great teachers help everybody win, the
children who receive a good education, and the community that raises a
generation of bright children with unlimited potential for their futures.

How Can You Help?

Thank a Teacher by going to website and clicking on contest link.

Rally others to vote for the teacher that was thanked.

Let the teacher know they are eligible for contest and can now apply for $100,000 Grant to put towards something marvelous for their students and their school.

Take action today. Talk to friends, neighbors, relatives,
church members and club members that you are associated with. Get as many on
board as you can and lead others to recruit people for votes. These are easy
steps to take for a chance to win amazing benefits for your community, TEACHERS
and SCHOOLS.

Our insurance agency has teamed up with Adopt A Classroom Organization and the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards (NBPTS) and will team up with you in helping you raise the bar for your community.

Thursday, June 26, 2014

Local insurance company warns community about IRS
scams. A local Steger resident received
a call saying that he did not pay his taxes and police would be arresting him
soon. He went to the Steger Police
Department and gave them the number to call.
The police traced the call to a McDonald’s in Washington D.C.

Remember, the IRS
does not call you outright in this manner.
All communication from the IRS begin with a letter to your home. In this way you contact them directly to
clear up any discrepancy. The IRS does
not operate in the function of quickly arresting people. All processes must go through the court
system and if anyone found to be in extreme violation a warrant would be issued
for a person’s arrest which would be served by a county Sheriff’s Police
Officer.

BE ON THE ALERT
as tax returns will be filed, there is an increased in scams of all types. Protect your filing status and identity
carefully this tax season. Other tricks
follow below.

Not all Thieves Are This Obvious

6 Current Scams Popping Up in Your
Area

It is simply a shame that such things even exist. You wonder
why someone would put the effort into hurting someone, instead of putting the
effort into making an honest living. Following are six common scams we are
seeing in this area. Please make others aware because when people catch on,
PREVENTION ruins the scam artist’s game.

1. Predator Targets Senior Citizen – An
elderly person gets a phone call that a loved one is in trouble. They need to
send a “money gram” right away to help. The trouble could be a false arrest,
car breaking down while “out of town on an emergency,” they were beat up and
dropped in an unfamiliar area, incurring expenses for help and now they need to
get home, etc. The stories are endless but the pattern is the same; create panic (which causes confusion), seed a story (that tugs on the love
strings) and can’t be verified, and prey
on the person’s natural instinct to help.
A local woman recently received such a phone call from her supposed nephew;
he gave his name and made references to family members. Speaking to her in her
most used language in Spanish, he succeeded in creating panic. He would call
back with information where to wire the money. Her son happened to stop by just
then and she told him what happened. Suspecting something, her son waited for
the phone call. When it came, he spoke briefly with the supposed nephew and
then told the man on the other end that he was calling the police. The call
ended abruptly. He later explained to his mother, “Mom didn’t you realize that
your nephew doesn’t speak fluent Spanish?” She knew this well, but in “panic”
mode; the thought of her nephew in danger would have moved her to do anything.
Scammers know to create confusion, so logic gets dumped.

2. Concert or Event
Tickets – This is a growing trend with two different endings. A consumer orders and pays for tickets for a
concert or event; either they never come in or the tickets are fake ones. The
Chicago Better Business Bureau reported that 32,000 consumers have contacted
them in the past 12 months for pre-purchase information about ticket
sales/event companies.

3. Door to Door Scams – The most common
door to door scam can include magazine subscription sales, meat sales, “free”
energy audits, outdoor home maintenance, medical wellness checks and voter
surveys. Many of these lead to identity theft.
The BBB recommends: when in doubt keep strangers out!

4. Moving Companies – There are many good
ones out there. Beware of the ones looking to take more than your belongings
for a ride. 2013 showed an increase in unlicensed and dishonest scammers, the
BBB received over 1.6 million moving related inquiries and 7,900 complaints
including lost or stolen belongings, damaged items, significant price increase
over quoted estimate, late deliveries and goods being “held hostage” for
additional payment.

5. Travel Scams – direct mail offers for
trips and cruises including look-a-like boarding passes and travelers checks.
Some offers claim to include free airfare and destination vacations by simply
calling a 1-800 number. Watch out for slick talkers, there are often hidden
fees ALWAYS read the fine print.

6. Seasonal Job Scams - A tell-tale sign
of these scams are fake postings that offer unusually high pay for little or no
effort. Some use fake interviews or job fairs that require payment by you in
order to get the job. Never pay to get a position. Beware of commission only
jobs, keep in mind seasonal job scams are often a front to steal your identity.

Monday, June 23, 2014

In this every
changing economy, saving money on our everyday expenditures makes our life
better. It is worth the time spent to find a great price for a great product. A
program has hit Illinois that offers discounted auto insurance for engineers.
This program is also extended to offer discounts on home insurance as well.

If you are
employed as an Engineer or Architect that lives in Illinois, or know someone
who is this breaking news is for you.
Phase 1 is being implemented in the following cities:

Engineers with a Bachelor’s Degree, Master’s Degree or PhD
Degree in engineering or a state professional engineering license to practice
in the state of Illinois can take advantage of these special discounts.

Architects with a Bachelor’s Degree, Master’s Degree or PhD Degree
in architecture or those who currently hold a license to practice in the state
board can also receive the benefits of these discounted auto insurance.

Call for your Free Quote. Saving has never been easier and
the protection you receive is the best in the nation.

Wednesday, June 18, 2014

In April, we attended
a very important high level conference concerning the direction of health care
in this nation. We bring back vital information to companies on both fronts; those
who do not provide health care insurance to their employees and those who
currently do provide these services.

Robert Gibbs,
American Political Advisor, Commentator and Former White House Press Secretary
was there to expound on the latest federal decisions and rulings. Many were
attentive as Mr. Gibbs spoke about the Employer Mandate issue.

The Employer
Mandate requires all employers with over 50 employees to provide health insurance
for their full-time workers or pay a monthly “Employer Shared Responsibility
Payment” on their federal tax return. It is supposed that the monthly payment
would go to pay expenses of those using the healthcare system but not having
their own health insurance plan or being under insured.

Thought to pass is 2014, Mr. Gibbs predicted
at Colorado Conference that this mandate would not pass in 2014. To
date; the current information is that this mandate has been delayed until
2015.

On that note, we
encourage companies to have a review of their health insurance to make sure they
are in compliance. By taking care of this before 2015, your company can learn
how to save in employee benefits and at no extra cost be assessed for
compliance. For companies that do not yet carry insurance, we can offer rates
at costs quite lower than the expensive fines that will be pursued by
government regulators in the near future.

·The annual fee is $2,000 per employee if insurance is not offered

·If at least one full-time employee receives a
premium tax credit because coverage is either not affordable or does not cover
60% of total cost, the employer is required to pay the less of $3,000 for each
of its employees receiving a credit of $750 for each full-tim employee total.

·The Fee is a monthly charge paid annually on the
Federal Tax Returns starting in 2015 for a business with 100 or more full-time
employees. This of course means 1/12 of the $2,000 or $3,000 required per
employee.

·This Fee is not Tax Deductible

·Companies in Transition may qualify for “relief”
during their “Transition” process.

Don’t Delay Find out where you stand and save money with a healthcare insurance plan customized to bring you every discount possible.

What is NAHU and why is it important? It is the National Association of Health
Underwriters. One of their aims is to obtain insurance for their clients who
are struggling to balance the need to purchase high quality and comprehensive
health coverage with the reality of rapidly escalating medical care costs.

Members of NAHU
serve Individuals and families. NAHU members also serve Employers looking to provide
quality health insurance to their employees.

They are bound by a code of ethics:

To hold the selling, service and
administration of health insurance and related products and services as a
professional and public trust and do all in my power to maintain its prestige.

To keep paramount the needs of those whom I
serve.

To respect my clients’ trust in me and to never
do anything that would betray their trust or confidence.

To give all service possible when service is
needed.

To present policies factually and accurately,
providing all information necessary for the issuance of sound insurance
coverage to the public I serve.

To use no advertising which I know may be false
or misleading.

To consider the sale, service and administration
of health insurance and related products as a career, to know and abide by the
laws of any jurisdiction,Federal and
State in which I practice and seek constantly to increase my knowledge and
improve my ability to meet the needs of my clients.

To be fair and just to my competitors, and to
engage in no practice which may reflect unfavorably on myself or my industry.

To treat prospects, clients and companies fairly
by submitting applications which reveal all available information pertinent to
underwriting a policy.

To extend honest and professional conduct to my
clients, associates, fellow agent and brokers, and the company or companies whose
products I represent.

This all boils
down to having YOU get the best quality health insurance and the best possible
price for insurance because they are bound to serve their customers interests
first. You are two steps ahead by using an agent who is a member of NAHU and
has a good Better Business Bureau rating. Such an agent is driven by a motive
to serve customers with honesty and integrity rather than a broker who is
always looking at this bottom line.

Don't Get Bogged Down with Red Tape of Health Insurance Guidelines,
We Take Care of That For You

Chances are, your
company qualifies for a little known Small Business Tax Credit for purchasing affordable health insurance. Companies that offer health care to their employees can
increase their purchase power by benefiting from this new program.

As a business
owner, we understand it has become more and more difficult to adhere by all the
government guidelines placed on your company. As CMS certified agents, we are
on the front lines of understanding the changes and how to work them to your improvement
of your business and your bottom line. We know you strive to give the
best to your employees; though you have to have that wisdom of balance in order to operate within your budget. We differ from brokers in such a drastic way. With
a broker your purchase your insurance products but must still maintain
administrative duties of implementing and documenting all aspects in order to
prove compliance with government agencies. As we specialize in health
insurance, our services of Administrative duties come at no cost to you.
Keeping you on top helps your company remain in compliance without danger of
fines from government audits.

Using a public
Small Business Health Options Program (SHOP), your business can take advantage
of the Affordable Care Act helping to offset the cost of enrolling employees in
health insurance.

These plans are a
gem and come WITHOUT the burden of additional administrative costs. The tax credit employers will receive depends
on the number of full-time equivalent employees and the amount the employer
contributes toward insurance premiums.

To qualify, a
company needs to have less than 25 full time employees, pay an average of
$50,000 or less per year and share one-half or more of the premium costs.

Your company can
qualify for a 35% - 50% savings. This is an amazing program that serves
employers and well as employees. Call to see how much your savings will be. You employees can have the confidence of a great health coverage plan. There is no obligation for us to assess your business and provide you with a
Free Quote that will save you money. This is one call you cannot afford to miss
out on.

Tuesday, June 10, 2014

Health Insurance Plans that meet all regulations at a surprisingly affordable costwith Administrators to oversee compliance, so you can focus on business andprovide the best for your employees without throwing your budget into chaos.

Finding
the best in business health insurance can be a challenge. Healthcare reform has
added a whole new level of regulations and guidelines that need to be followed
in order for a company to be in compliance with state and federal guidelines. Important changes are
happening quicker than ever these days. At times so quickly that many are
unaware of what has recently transpired. This information affects individuals,
business owners and other groups such as non-profit and freelance workers.

Complex Healthcare
Reform (HCR) has many associated risks:

Risk #1 - The cost of non-compliance

Risk #2 - Confusion over HCR benefits

Risk #3 - Complex benefits management

Risk #4 - Decreased employee morale

Risk #5 - Overspending on benefits

Risk #6 - Pop-Up agencies exploiting
confusion

We help businesses to better address
these risks and control their employee benefit offerings to create a situation
that best benefits employer and employee. As CMS certified agents we know our employee health plans inside and out so we can give you the best match in coverage and affordability.

Recently,
the House passed legislation that would change the Affordable Care Act's (ACA)
definition of full-time employee to 40 hours per week, which would reduce the
number of workers receiving employer-sponsored health coverage if enacted.

Take Control, Call us Today for a
free quote, or to set up an appointment to have your questions answered. We are
confident we can offer you the best rates on affordable health insurance. We
are a trusted company with 35 years experience and an A+ Rating with the Better
Business Bureau.

Thursday, June 5, 2014

Just as cars have changed, so
has the Auto Industry that insures them.

When you are looking for car insurance, you want to know your agent has got your back. The privilege to shop around is really to your advantage. When you find a good thing--stick with it. There are so many aspects that have changed due to technology moving so quickly. The basics have certainly changed in reference to what we bring into our cars with us and how much more we use our autos for more than just transportation.

As you can see, Farmers insurance proves champion at offering discounts. With peace of mind and a trusted company behind you, its easy to focus on the more important things in your life. Be Safe and enjoy the places you travel in your car. One more words about auto insurance discounts; I'll end with a saying from an Old Timer "The scenery is that much prettier when you've saved some money on the way out there!"